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by Bookshido



Series: The Stories of Arcadia Donovan, Lone Wanderer [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Angst, Depressed Lone Wanderer, Game Spoilers, Gen, The Author Cried Writing This, Vault 101, character birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 21:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookshido/pseuds/Bookshido
Summary: July 13, 2279. The loneliest day of the year for the Lone Wanderer.  (A more detailed summary is available in the author's notes)





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**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by something that I end up doing every once in a while in my game. While the events described here cannot happen in-game, I like to think that they would at some point. There is another author's note at the end that better describes my feelings about this story, so I won't go into too much detail here. Enjoy the story. :)

“Hey, Fawkes?” Arcadia called, slinging her Gauss over her shoulder. “Can we stop for a second?”

“Of course,” he boomed, loosely holding his gatling laser. “What is it?”

“I need to pick up some things, alright,” she told him, a strange look on her face. 

He frowned, confused. “Is, everything alright?”

“Yes, just… I need to do something,” she said, putting on a small smile. “Can we get over to Megaton?”

“Of course,” he said, smiling as best he could.

However, as she turned towards Megaton and lifted her Pip-Boy to check the map, he could see something in her. Something he didn’t like. It only came out once in awhile, usually after a particularly nasty battle or when they came across a scene of immense tragedy or when they couldn’t save everyone. It scared him sometimes, the way she would go silent and just walk, gun in hand. She wasn’t the Lone Wanderer, savior of the Wasteland. She was the scared, lost child he’d met in Vault 87 who was still looking for some shred of purpose. 

* * *

 

Once they got to Megaton, she didn’t even stop at her home there on her way to Moira’s shop. The trader/scientist was more than happy to see them and deals were quickly made along with some simple smalltalk. It was almost ridiculous how fast they were in and out of there, and uncharacteristic for Moira to not talk so much. 

“Did you get everything you need?” he asked her once they stepped outside. 

“Uh, yeah, I just need to grab some stuff from the house, then we can get moving, alright?” she asked, trying to act like nothing was wrong. “Want to wait for me by the gate?”

“Of course,” he agreed, nodding. “I will wait for you there.”

She hurried down the path and over the doctor’s house to the main central street. Fawkes followed her and started up the hill, waiting by the large city gates for her to return. It took only a few moments before Arcadia exited the house and approached him once more. 

“Alright, you ready, Fawkes?” she asked, a small quiver in her voice. 

“Yes,” he said, shifting carefully. “Let’s be on our way.”

They left Megaton as the sun was beginning it’s descent past the horizon. Soon, it would night and Fawkes did not like the idea of travelling so late at night, but Arcadia did not seem to have a problem with it, so he knew it was only right to accompany her. She set off to the barely south west of Megaton, going west more so. Within a couple of minutes, they were climbing a small, barely there trail that was beginning to become overgrown. Set into the side of the mountain was a ramshackle wood panel door. A faded metal sign was affixed to it and he stared at it in confusion. 

“What is this place?” he asked, making her flinch from the volume. 

“This is… Vault 101,” she said, turning to him with a thin smile. “This is where I grew up.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “Why are we here?”

“I…” she stammered, then sighed. “There’s something I need to do. Alone. Can you wait out here for me?”

“Of course,” he said, nodding. “I will await your return.”

She nodded to herself, grabbed her bag’s shoulder strap, and started towards the door. Gently, Arcadia opened the creaky wooden door and disappeared inside. 

* * *

It was a boring night in the Vault 101 security office and Officer Taylor was on duty. He picked in his nose, flicking the dry flakes off his pointer finger when they produced no stimulation whatsoever. Rolling his eyes, he spun his swivel chair around and then stopped himself to start flicking through his terminal. Security camera footage rolled up and he clicked through the feeds, pausing on a teenage couple making out. He briefly considered getting himself off to it, but shrugged and went on to the next camera. All too soon, he had looked at them all and was again staring at a plain green terminal screen. 

Sighing, he clicked on the ‘Vault PA System Monitoring’ tab. This led to two more tabs: ‘Live PA Feed’ and ‘Connected Pip-Boys’. He glanced around and picked on the second option. It rolled out the list of Pip-Boy designation numbers and their owners’ names next to it. His gaze ran down the list, mouthing each name carefully as his curson rolled over it and lit it up.

_ Pip-Boy #: 136748 - Amata Almodovar _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136521 - Wally Mack _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136974 - Edwin Brotch _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136385 - Susie Mack _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136169 - Lucy Palmer _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136742 - Gloria Mack _

_ Pip-Boy #: 136703 - Unknown _

Officer Taylor frowned at the final entry. It was a Vault 101 Pip-Boy; the 136 of the designation number proved that. But if it was a resident, it would have some kind of information about who was doing it. He slowly moved his cursor over the entry, seeing it light up that he could click onto it for more information. He clicked on it.

Several lines revealed themselves.

_ Pip-Boy Designation Number: 136703 _

_ Owner Name: ERROR CODE 0.021 - CURRENT USER DATA NOT FOUND _

_ Previous Owner Registry _

_ Connection Point: ERROR CODE 1.002 - WIRELESS CONNECTION NOT FOUND _

_ Listening History _

The first two could not be interacted with, but all the others were links. Officer Taylor stared at the links, considering his options. Of course he was curious; this was the most exciting thing to happen in a week. But the other half of him was telling him to call Overseer Amata Almodovar and get her into the office before he went forward with the investigation. With a sigh, he got up and went to the office phone. Rumors persisted that the new Overseer had her father’s temper, and he didn’t want to test it now. 

“This better be important to be interrupting dinner,” she muttered into the receiver. “And not another problem where Lindsey Mack and Alex DeLoria are making out in the corner of the Atrium.”

“No, it isn’t, Overseer,” he said, gritting his teeth. 

“Then what is it.”

“I-Well, you see, I was going through the PA system records,” he explained, picking up the pace as she sighed irritably. “And I found the list of connected Pip-Boys, and-”

“And what?” she snapped. 

“There’s an unknown Pip-Boy connected into the PA system,” he finished, wincing. 

There was utter silence from her end. 

“And why are you calling me about this?” she asked after a moment, sighing heavily. “Why didn’t you call the Maintenance department? I’m sure they could figure out what’s going on. Do you recognize the designation number?”

“Uh…” he stammered, picking up the phone and running over to the terminal. “No. No, I don’t.”

“I’ll be coming up to your office, but only to identify who’s Pip-Boy is having an issue,” she irritably stated. “Don’t waste my time.”

Overseer Almodovar hung up on him and he returned the phone to its spot on the desk and waited anxiously.

* * *

 

It only took a couple of minutes for her to arrive and the Security Office door slid open automatically as she approached. An irritated look dominated her features and she crossed her arms as she stared at him. 

“So, let me see it,” she said, jerking him into action. 

“Oh, right,” he stammered, hurrying over to the terminal. “Alright, can I read it to you?”

“If you must,” she said with an eyeroll. 

“The number is 1-3-6-7-0-3,” he read aloud, not turning around to face her. “I know it’s a 101 Pip-Boy, ‘cause it has the 1-3-6 at the front, but the last three are sort of weird.”

He spun around on the swivel chair, smiling, but it quickly fell when he saw how pale she had become. 

“Uh, Overseer?” he asked, frowning. “Everything okay?”

“I… uh, yeah,” she said, shaking her head. “I can actually take care of this, alright? You can go ahead and take your break early. Head on down to dinner.”

“You mean it?” he asked excitedly, standing. “Awesome! Thanks, boss!”

He nearly sprinted out of the office and she waited until he vanished around the corner to take a seat at his desk. Hesitantly, Amata glanced around herself and clicked on the  _ Listening History _ tab. This took her to another page with an extensive history. However, all of the dates for listening hours were before August 19, 2277; up until today. Today (July 13, 2279) was the first entry and the owner of the Pip-Boy had been listening for almost two hours. 

She smiled sadly and clicked back to the other screen, choosing the connection point link next. It showed the same error message from the previous screen, but a new line that she hadn’t seen before. 

_ ERROR CODE: 1.002 - WIRELESS CONNECTION DATA NOT FOUND _

_ Land Line Connection: Port 2 _

Her eyes widened and she clicked on the second line. It pulled up a map of the Vault and zoomed in on a blinked red dot. It was located just outside of the Vault door, most likely the outer password connection point. She stared at the light for a good minute before rising and clearing the page. It went back to the home page of the security terminal and, as an afterthought, she removed access from the security terminal to the PA records. 

She left the office and made her first stop at the Mack family’s quarters and asked them to tune out of the PA system. Although they had protested, a quick explanation of regular maintenance made them all shut of the radios. She went on to Lucy Palmer’s room, who turned it off before she could use the explanation, so Amata headed on to the teacher’s room. He was eating dinner in his room that night, and rose to greet her. 

“Amata, how lovely to see you,” he said, smiling widely. “Or should I call you Overseer Almodovar now?”

“Amata is fine, Mr. Brotch,” she said, giggling.

“What can I do for you,” he asked, leaning on his chair. 

“We’re going to be doing some routine maintenance on the PA system,” she explained. “I saw you were listening to the system still, so unless you want to hear some massive feedback, you might want to turn it off for the night.”

“Alright, thank you for the warning,” he said, straightening up and fiddling with the buttons. “I was going to turn in for the night soon anyways, so you caught me at a perfect time.”

“Thanks, Mr. Brotch,” Amata called, leaving his room. 

Now that all of the other listeners had been dealt with, she headed up to the Overseer’s office. All of the lights had shut off in her absence and as soon as she entered, they clicked on. With a purpose, she strode into her main office and took a seat at the big desk. Opening up her terminal, a notification greeted her to show that she now had access to a new security program. Amata opened up the program and smiled to see that the radio waves were empty except for Unknown. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her chair back and unlocked the secret exit. The huge desk rose up and she stood from the chair, hurrying down the stairs. 

A shiver ran down her spine as she pushed open the door and started down the tunnel. She hadn’t seen this tunnel in almost two years. In fact, she wasn’t even the last one to be down there. The last one had been- Well… The important thing was that the escape tunnel had been put to good use that night. She shook her head and kept walking, picking up her pace. 

At the end of the tunnel, she opened the end door and walked into the Vault entrance room. Luckily, it was deserted and she hurried over to the door control panel. The speaker lights were lit up and she started fiddling with the controls until she could get the communications port fully up and running. 

* * *

Leaned up against the cave wall, Arcadia sighed and listened to the gentle music as candlelight flickered over the walls. It was a happy respite from the usual propaganda that had dominated the PAs when she was younger, and much more relaxing. This was probably one of Amata’s changes now that she was Overseer. Glancing over at the Pip-Boy, she saw that it was almost time, so she started fumbling in her bag for the things she’d bought from Moira and brought from her house. Pulling them out as she found them, Arcadia laid out the following: a package of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes, two more of the medium sized candles, a single tiny candle, a box of matches, and a single holotape. 

She fumbled as she ripped open the package of snack cakes. It was already dark outside, and even darker near the Vault door, so she was glad she’d chosen to light three of the medium candles before wiring her way into the Vault. It made her job a little easier and she set the two cakes on top of the wrapper before going after the matches and larger candles. Using only one match apiece, she lit them both and placed them on the Vault door frame. She waved them out and chucked them out in front of her, letting the embers die on their own. As the newly lit candles came to life, she positioned the tiny candle between the two snack cakes and lit a match. With the delicate expertise of a surgeon, she lit another match and lit the candle. It caught flame almost immediately and she waved out that match as well. 

Only once it was burning bright did she turn on the holotape. 

“ _Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first_ ,” James’s voice said out of the tape. 

Arcadia bit her lip and tried to hold back tears that were already beginning to form from just hearing his voice. 

“ _I don't really know how to tell you this_ ,” he said. “ _I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong, and there's really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously, you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own._ ”

She wiped at her eyes, the water soaking through her sleeve.

“ _Maybe some day, things will change and we can see each other again_ ,” he suggested. “ _I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the Vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going._ ”

Arcadia chokingly laughed, knowing all too well that he couldn’t have known what would come; that she would follow him; that she’d fight her way, tooth and nail, to find him, only to watch him die. 

“ _Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with_ ,” Jonas said, eliciting a new small whimper from her.

Another life, caught in the blast that was her very existence. Lone gone.

“ _Okay. Go ahead_ ,” her dad said, then uttered the last words. “ _Goodbye. I love you._ ”

She sobbed louder this time, letting the waterworks fully explode out as the holotape shut off. Her sobs echoed around the tunnel, drowning out the light classical music from the PA system with crying. Arcadia curled up into herself, watching the birthday candle melt its way down. 

July 13th, 2289. On this day, twenty-one years ago, Arcadia Donovan was born, taking her mother out of the world and beginning what some would call the ‘Golden Age’ of the Wasteland. Her father, with the knowledge of the Wasteland’s dangers, took her to Vault 101 and begged for asylum, keeping her legacy hidden and attempting to make sure she would be safe in the Vault. The rest is history. 

Her crying calmed down to sniffling and then to quiet deep breathing as the minutes passed on. Hesitantly, not sure if she was still alright, she sat back up and took a deep breath. With one blow, she blew out the birthday candle. Unlike when she was a child, she had no wish to ask for with the successful extinguishment. There didn’t seem to be anything worth wishing for. She sat there, in the peaceful tunnel, staring at the small birthday celebration as classical music played on.

However, the peace was interrupted by a burst of feedback that had her clutching her ears and then dead silence. Arcadia stared down at her Pip-Boy, confused as why it was suddenly silent.

“ _ Arcadia, I know you’re listening,”  _ Amata’s voice announced.

Arcadia stared at it shock now and glanced around, wondering if she was being pranked or something.  

“ _ We picked up on your Pip-Boy on the registry _ ,” she explained. “ _ The security office didn’t recognize it because I cleared you out of the system after you were last here. Wanted to make sure there wasn’t a trace of you, so the others wouldn’t get upset.” _

Arcadia stared at the ground. 

“ _ But I, uh, I recognized your Pip-Boy designation number _ ,” she explained, chuckling. “ _ Sort of funny that of all the things I remember, your Pip-Boy number is one of them. But it wasn’t the only thing I remembered. I think I know why you’re here. _ ”

Arcadia waited anxiously for her next words. It was dead silent and for a moment, she thought she’d lost the signal. Then, with a soft breath in, a song started.

“ _ Happy birthday to you _ ,” Amata’s gentle voice sang. “ _ Happy birthday to you _ …”

Arcadia gaped at the speaker and clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her sob. Tears started to pour down again, dropping to land on the screen of the Pip-Boy. She fumbled to wipe them off, and sobbed as Amata began the next verse.

“ _ Happy birthday, dear Arcadia, happy birthday to you, _ ” Amata finished. 

There was a moment of silence before Amata spoke again.

“ _ Happy birthday, Arcadia, _ ” she said, and Arcadia could hear the smile in her voice. “ _ Thank you for being the best friend I’ve ever had. It know it’s lonely out there, but… I just want you to know that no matter what you do, no matter where you go, someone back home is rooting for you.” _

Arcadia let out another sob. 

“ _ You were never the type for birthday wishes, so I guess I’ll just have to do it for you,”  _ she said with a small laugh. “ _ Arcadia, I wish you all the best. I wish that you can one day sit down and find your happiness. That one day you can look back on this whole mess of a world and know that everything you’ve done has made it better and that you are loved.” _

Arcadia wiped at the tears as best she could and nodded slowly, even if no one was there to see it.

“ _ Good luck out there,”  _ Amata finished.

The line went dead and the classical music resumed. Arcadia sat there in silence for another moment before reached around the control panel and pulling the Pip-Boy wires loose. The PA system music went dead and she sat there: not moving, not sleeping, not speaking; until the candles burned out.

Then, with the weary way heroes tend to have, she rose, gathered her things and walked out of the tunnel.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading to the end of this story. I'd like to elaborate a little more about why this was such an impactful story for me to write and what really inspired me to write this. The return to Vault 101 quest line was the only quest in the game that really pulled at my heartstrings and actually made me upset to complete it and quite upset about the results. As my Lone Wanderer walked out of the Vault for the final time, I started tearing up because all I could think was 'Oh my god, I can never go back. I really am the Lone Wanderer'. At that time, I had no companions and had not met a potential companion who matched up with my karma balance, and I had completed the 'Waters of Life' quest. I had always thought you could come back to Vault 101 one day and end your game there, coming and going as you please, surrounded by people who cared about you. But then that avenue sealed itself away for good. It felt the beginning of the end for my character and what I had hoped to come from the game. I, personally, had already been feeling depressed about the game as a whole and this event, where the Lone Wanderer's best friend kicked her out for good, made me even more upset. Nothing good ever seemed to happen to my character and, if you've played all the way, nothing good comes to the Lone Wanderer. So here, I hoped to tap into that feeling and channel it out. Thank you for taking the time to read this all the way through. It means a lot.


End file.
